


checklist

by tahanialjamil



Series: fire burnin' bright [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, I know I'm sorry, Jon Snow is a Stark, Jon's good i swear, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, benjen stark has a daughter, i'm still getting the hang on ao3 please bare with me, no jonmund, series title is from lava by the b-52's, very mild slut shaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 06:20:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20223223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahanialjamil/pseuds/tahanialjamil
Summary: Benjen Stark's joining the army meant leaving his daughter behind, in favor of giving her a steady, normal childhood. Nevertheless, this didn't affect negatively on Illa, brought up in a house full of cousins and two loving uncles. She never knew any different than being Jon's almost twin, and his best friend.





	checklist

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written something like this in English (which is not my first language) so I apologize if some stuff is a bit odd, sometimes things get mixed up in translation. hopefully, I'll get better with practice.  
My plan is to keep posting different additions to this series and continue the storyline, maybe with some time jumps to get more background of the characters and things like that. and probably smut, eventually.  
Constructive criticism is appreciated, and kudos/comments/bookmarks and all of that are highly encouraged.

She could hear the coffee pot working, sound muffled by the blanket covering her head. The bed was warm, at least warm enough for her to not want to leave. Shifting, Illa realized that it didn’t feel like her mattress. With a tiny grunt of complain, she uncovered her head and barely opened her eyes, starting to give shape to the room she was in. As soon as she did this, the hangover started to settle on her brain, painting a clearer picture of last night, along with a slight headache. Illa hadn’t actually drunk that much, now that she remembered, so at least whoever she was with, had been a conscious choice by a slightly tipsy past her.  
She recalled dancing with Podrick and a group of girls they didn’t know. Her friend had left quite early with one girl on each arm. Did she have a threesome too? It didn’t feel like it. Rubbing her temples, she sat on the bed, trying to remember how she got there.  
She had started the conversation, after a couple of short-lived stares and shared smiles. They had left decently late, walking towards his apartment, laughing quite loudly along the way, but the rest of the night was still slightly blurry, as usual.  
Reaching for her underwear, she started to take in the room. Light leaked through the blinds' creaks and the room felt still, like a photograph. It was tidy, with the bare essentials, with some cardboard boxes pilling on the floor. Her own clothes at the end of the bed, folded, a bit out of place. She continued her quest to get dressed, still not wanting to leave the comfort of the bed, when someone barged on into the room, speaking loudly.

  
“Hey Tormund, I need your laptop char---” the young man stopped cold on his feet at the sight of her, not even bothering to finish his sentence. _Oh hell no._

  
“Illa??? What the fuck are you doing here?” his brows furrowed, and he moved a step forward.

  
“What the fuck are YOU doing here?” she retorted, doing up the last button of her shirt.

  
“I asked you first.”

  
“I asked you second.”

She hoped to get some kind of positive response from him, but Jon looked pissed, face shifted from his regular slightly too-serious expression to a mix of genuine shock and almost concern. Illa felt bad for him. “Well, I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m doing here” she smiles, tilting her head slightly “mattress testing”.  
He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his jet black hair, wild curls, oddly enough, not held tightly in a bun. Before Jon could say anything more, someone else entered the apartment and subsequentially, the room, carrying a basket full of clean clothes. Jon earned a hard look from the other man. “Jon, what are you do… Ah, you’re awake” he pointed out, moving his eyes from him to the woman still sitting in the bed.

  
Illa’s eyebrows rose slightly, unconsciously at the sight of the redheaded giant that had just walked in. It’s not like she didn’t remember him, but after a few beers, everybody seemed a lot more handsome than usual. It wasn’t the case. He was almost as broad as the door frame and stood at least a head taller than Jon, which meant almost two heads taller than her. His hair, although, orange enough, paled in comparison with his beard, bright, the color of fire itself and well-kempt, yet still maintaining his overall rugged look. Coming back to herself she let out “Hi”, a soft sound followed by a small smile.

  
“For fuck's sake,” Jon huffed, glaring at her. “Why do you insist on fucking all of my friends?”

  
“Wait… What? You know each other?” Tormund’s eyebrows met each other, definitely taken aback, yet not angry, more so, curious.

  
Still, he was ignored.

  
“What!? That’s bullshit” Illa spat out, sheets still covering the lower half of her body.

  
“Sam.” Jon took a step closer, unfolding his fingers to signal his counting. “Edd. Pyp. Oberyn. Beric. Now Tormund. Who’s next? Gendry?”

  
“That’s totally unfair” she complained, wanting to stand up but preferring to do so with some pants on. “Sam was just a kiss when we were like ten. And Edd was my boyfriend, a fact that I remember you saying, didn’t bother you at the time. Also, what’s a quick handjob in the McDonald’s parking lot between friends? Besides, you might as well be the only person who has not slept with Oberyn.”

  
“Illa I swear to Gods…”

  
“So you two do know each other” Tormund looked calm, contrary to Jon, whose ears were burning red. “Yeah.” was the only confirmation the ginger got from the other man.  
“How was I supposed to know you knew him? We just met” she paused, searching deeper in Jon’s dark grey eyes, with true seriousness behind her own, for the first time in the whole conversation. “You really think I would sleep with Gendry? That low do you think of me? Knowing how whipped he and Arya are for each other? I would never do such a thing, Jon”.

  
“What? That can’t be true. Arya and Gendry? That’s great. Fucking great. What’s next? Sandor and Sansa?”

  
“Well…”

  
“No. Shut up” he interrupted.

  
“Jon, listen to me” She tried to grab her jeans but couldn’t reach them, so Tormund, who has remained silent and still, intervened “thank you, Tormund”. Putting them on, she turned to face Jon. “I truly didn’t know you two knew each other”

  
“That’s hard to believe when you’re in my apartment”

  
_His_ apartment? Then what was Tormund doing there? Were they roommates? She couldn’t remember recognizing the loft, at all, when they came here last night.  
“I didn’t… I never noticed, Jon. I was occupied with…_other stuff_.” She looks down for the first time, a wave of embarrassment washed over Illa, and maybe even something that resembled guilt. “I’m sorry Jon. For this, and for dating Edd, and for getting drunk that night with Beric, all the shit. It’s not a personal goal of mine, you know? I don't have a checklist if that's what you think. I just didn’t know it upset you so badly. But we do share a group of friends since we were little.”

“Yeah, maybe it would be good if you kept your legs closed around our group of friends” he murmured. The words came out of Jon’s mouth before he could even think of what he was saying. He knew better, way better than to say such a thing to anybody, especially her.  
Illa’s eyes met Jon, only disappointment behind her gaze.

  
“Don’t talk to her like that” Tormund spoke once more, his voice deep, almost like a warning. As Illa assumed him and Jon to be friends, it took her by surprise to hear him defend her.

  
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Illa. You know I didn’t mean to say that.”

  
“And yet you did. Good to know what you truly think of me, Jon”

  
Jon reached to her, sitting on the side of the bed and pulled her to him “I’m sorry” She was reluctant at first, eyes fixed on the floor, eventually giving in. She had known his cousin her whole damn life, they were family, almost brothers, and it wasn’t the first time they had said hurtful things to each other, and probably wouldn’t be the last.

  
“You should get other friends,” she said playfully, returning to her regular attitude, putting a bit of distance between them.

  
“I did, and you also fucked him,”

  
Illa couldn’t help but laugh loudly at that.

  
They both turned to face Tormund. The ginger man still resting against the doorframe, blocking the way out in its entirety. “Well, now that that is settled… How do you know each other? Are you two siblings?”

“Cousins,” Jon said, at the same time that Illa responded: “Twins”

  
“Well yeah, twin-cousins,” The shorter man said, hope the other would get it.

  
“I was born on Friday and Jon, Sunday next. We grew up like siblings”

  
“Aye,” Tormund nodded. “I see”

  
There was a small, yet painfully awkward silence, before Illa stood up, brushing her black hair as best as she could with her hands. She offered them both a smile before letting out a small sigh, followed by an “I should go”

  
Tormund took a step forward, facing her directly. “But I made breakfast”  
The woman, slipping her shoes on, wasn't able to suppress the urge to smile at him. Still, she turned around to see Jon’s reaction.

  
“Fine,” He huffed out “I’m hungry too.”


End file.
